Oak Mountain State Park - Paddling and Hiking
IrmaGerd! Spontaneous Alabama Road Trip!
Pelham, AL
9 September 2017
Introduction
Long story short - I fled Tallahassee, FL to Birmingham, AL with the kittycats to escape from Hurricane Irma.
Joke on me - the storm did almost nothing to Tallahassee and the power didn't go out ever.
Joke on life - I got to get National Park passport stamps.
The Sunday morning of the weekend, I decided on a National Park agenda.
Stop 1 -
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Stop 2 -
Russell Cave National Monument
The Story
While at the market, I talked to Brooke and her friend about things to do. I wanted to go hiking and explore the outdoors, so they suggested I head to
Oak Mountain State Park. I hardly did any research, which is consistent with everywhere I went on this trip. My directions took me in the back gate, where I paid the $5.00 entry fee. Fortunately for me, the back gate opened directly toward two lakes! I brought my kayaks from Tallahassee because I didn't want them to swim away during the storm. Now I can make the haul worth it. I asked the ranger at the gate the best place to launch, and he said the lake towards the left (Lunker Lake) where it was less crowded. I parked where a few other vehicles were parked right by a mini beach on the lake. I saw some kayaks and fishing boats with trolling motors out on the water. I unloaded the Stratos and everything I needed to be safe and hydrated...except for sunscreen, which I forgot to bring with me. A nice couple who beached their kayaks before I launched let me use some of theirs.
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About to launch! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I decided on paddling counterclockwise around the perimeter. That way I can get the gist of the lake and see what it has to offer. There would likely be significantly more wildlife viewing on the banks too.
Immediately I noticed a bridge up farther on my right. I assumed it would lead to the other lake, Oak Mountain Lake. Looking on Google Maps now I see it does, but the park doesn't appear to want boaters to cross between the two.
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Does this go to the other lake? Maybe, but I can't find out.... [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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And on we go! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
Since the barriers under the bridge rejected me, I paddled on. At this point there were some nooks and crannies to explore. Below is a little passage between two of the small sections off to the side.
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Narrow Passage Way [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I didn't have many interesting close-ups in this part of lake so I continued on. The rest of the lake lies behind the rocks in the photo below.
Below are some pictures that I thought were at least mildly interesting.
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Leaf that recently fell on the water [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Pretty leaves [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Dragonfly! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Stuck in fallen trees! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Only one branch of the tree is excited for Fall [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
So I made it through to the Northern part of the lake farthest from where I launched. It felt different. First off the vegetation on the shore seemed out of place.
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Different vegetation on the banks [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
Second was a holy s*** moment that made me jump. I heard a loud noise in the water and looked to my left to see a large cloud of dirt behind a trail of some sort of animal zooming off. Then it happened again. There must have been two mysterious water animals. This was the only picture I could get, and it was after the two accelerated away from me. I'm assuming a large fish of some sort? The fish I had seen prior were no bigger than the size of my hand.
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Mysterious Lake Creatures Fleeing Away From Me [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I turned around towards my launch site and was greeted by a massive school of tiny fish. It's hard to see clearly in the picture, but they were swimming close together and took a good 15-20 seconds to pass me. I wonder if they were scurrying away from the lake monsters.
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A massive school of tiny fish! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Heading back to the boat ramp [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I spy with my little eye something that looks like turtles on a log!
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Turtles? [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I was right!
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Turtles! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
They all fled faster than turtles normally do. I never even got very close, but maybe I should stop intentionally ruddering towards innocent wildlife. However, I didn't even see this little guy below a little later on until I was right next to him. He/she never jumped off the log. All alone and half the size of the other turtles.
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Brave little turtle [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I'm so excited about the transition from Summer to Fall. Alabama is getting close. Tallahassee will probably just skip to Winter in January.
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This tree is def transitioning to Fall! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
So as I started driving to find hiking trails, I saw this on Oak Mountain Lake! It looked like a cross between ziplining and wakeboarding. It is
Flip Side Watersports. Another time...
Not too much farther down the road I found the North Trail Head for hiking. I parked and began to tackle the map. It is an enormous trail system.
The choices in the beginning were: Blue Trail one way OR Red, White, or Yellow the other way. I have no idea how I came to my conclusion, but I started on the Blue Trail.
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Random bird house [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
This is the map of the trails. It's exhausting looking at it.
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Map of Trail System [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
There was a sign pointing to a short detour hike to an overlook.
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Looks kind of like a swan or dragon or something [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
It was not worth it. There's a bench sort of overlooking a muddy creek.
Sometimes when I'm hiking, I forget to look up. The forest canopies are gorgeous.
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Don't forget to look up! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Boulders [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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More boulders [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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And a pile of rocks... [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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North Red/Blue Connector Sign [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I really liked the wooden trail blazes. They look awesome on the tree trunks having a nice pop, and the connector trails with the two colors looked even more awesome. When I was on this connector, a couple walked passed me going the opposite direction. One was wearing a red shirt, and the other was wearing a blue shirt. I pointed it out to them, and they humored me with a polite laugh.
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Red/Blue Trail Blaze [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
In a few places, there were some painted blazes. I'm assuming these were the norm before the wood was nailed to the trees.
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Old Blazes? [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Leave No Trace [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I came across another map on the trail. I clearly took the Red/Blue connector that was further East, but I was trying to take the Western one on this map. I did not make it as far as I thought I had. Oh well! Plenty of room to adjust. I was close to the trailhead too, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if I don't want to go on a long hike. This added a perspective for me that the park is even larger than I imagined.
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Trail Map [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
The Red/Blue connector brought me from Blue to (obviously) Red. The Red trail was a wider, more family friendly trail.
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Red Trail Blaze [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Red Trail Marker 101 [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Bridge over a creek [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Spider of some sort [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
Once I was essentially back at the trailhead, I took the White and Yellow offshoot for further exploration.
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These signs are too pretty! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
The trail then splits into two separate trails, where I started with white.
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Yellow and White Trail Markers [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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White Blaze [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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White Trail [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I hit a very confusing trail intersection. The white trail went one way, the yellow went both ways, and there was also a connector trail of some sorts. There was a map here thank goodness, but it took some time to get my bearings. I opted to hike the yellow trail back to the trailhead.
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A very confusing trail intersection [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I started to take some more detailed pictures.
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I like trees [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Acorns [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
Baby trees!
As Fall is approaching, there are more fallen leaves on the trail. The pine trees have been dropping lots of stuff. There are pine cones littered around various sections of the forest, and often the trails are covered in a pine needle carpet.
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Pine cone Graveyard [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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| Pine Needles [2017-09-09] Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Lone pine cone on a random patch of sand [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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Marker for a mountain bike trail [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
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We're on a bridge Chaaaaaarlie! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I wrapped up my hiking and returned to my truck. I opened up the cooler and brought out the local Alabama Kombucha I bought at the farmer's market. I decided on the Harvest Roots Lemongrass and Chamomile. I popped it open and got on my way, hoping no one thinks I'm drinking beer as I'm driving...
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Local Kombucha! [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
I decided to discover how big this park truly is. Since I had entered through the back gate, there had to be at least one other entrance. I passed an archery range, which is awesome. It doesn't seem as if they charge? Maybe they do, but I tragically left my bow at home.
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Archery Range [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
There's also a golf course! Golf courses are huge, so what a great addition to this massive park. I wonder where the amusement park, movie theater, and mall are?
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Damn I couldn't ride my horse on the golf course.....jerks [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
There is another lake where you can rent watercraft. Most everyone on the water was cruising along in pedal boats. This was next to the closed for the day visitor center.
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Rental Boats [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
The Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center was closed for the day also when I drove past.
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Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center [2017-09-09]
Oak Mountain State Park | Pelham, AL |
Last but not least, the main entrance sign at the "front gate" of the park.
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